The Spiritual Bat 2014

  At this point I can call them friends, and so their success, their struggle for it, matters to me. The Spiritual Bat come all the way from Italy. I go see them for the same reason I go see a lot of bands. There is something in their music that I identify with and so I support it when I can. A little something else comes with them. They bring with them the identity of the goth rock subculture. It fascinates how transnational their act is and small enough for them to remember you from town to town. It so fascinates me the distance they travel.  By the time I see them they have done all their European gigs and a portion of the US. I see them after lots of mileage. Goth rock is international, its trans local.  They carry the bloody torch. That identifiable energy is evident from the first track of the new CD. They are touring for what I believe is their third release, Mosaic.  I bought it on blind faith. And wow! I'm all into it. The blood does not pulse slowly for someone that likes goth rock. We in the shadows like to dance. Movement, tension and contemplation. Thinking shit through as you move. Its not the primary purpose if you will of dark music, but its one of those irresistible by products that make the subculture so attractive, and The Bats have this down.  Basically "you can dance to this" is saying they know how to keep your attention, without pandering to you. They are basically themselves in naturally appealing to that narrow passionate dark clad audience.  That title track just takes off and wakes you up with that dark muscle car engine.  If you are tired and winded after dancing, then you need to do more cardio because here comes We Are Born We Live We Die. Suddenly I'm back to one of those club nights that are exclusively devoted to goth rock.  You are not going to sit to So Proud there is that tension that makes you do those long slow dance movements. Tension is the thing that keeps even the slower tracks in my radar. At the moment I am currently all about Linfo! And it continues to rain on you after that. And let me stress that to me this genre....my appreciation for it is not out of nostalgia. This music lives in the present day for me and in part because of The Bats. They keep it in my head, and they keep me pursuing it.
  Well...2009 does feel like a long time ago. Much has passed since then. This was the second time at Live Wire Lounge. Seeing them was a much needed oasis for me. Oh...and Sarah and William were there. A good gathering of some of the friends of the local dark/goth-industrial subculture. Before that night I was such a fucking miserable bastard with no internet for a month. and then a 3 day migraine. I was probably unpleasant to be around. Just before blackout I wrote the show down......I knew this here comet was on its way and so I made arrangements to be where it hits. Hmmm, by the way, by black out I meant internet. I didn't black out from the migraine.....just to get that out. Anyway....This show was significant. Yet all day the night of the show I felt no anticipation. I dared not feel it, or something will swoop down and deny it the second they see me salivating. Something internally switched it off. Without internet like a fucking cave man you don't know if they changed venue or if something else happened. The relative isolation makes you think shit. Anyway....I'm glad I made it to this show where I got to see old friends, see old friends on stage. And I felt internally replenished for it.
Zig